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Alright, as y'all know, me and my Yamaha SuperTen aren't really getting along that well, and she's up for sale after just two months and 4000 KMs.

NOW the tough part begins: what to buy next? I narrowed down the choice to two bikes, considering my budget, what I've ridden in the past, how I plan to use them in the future, and so on. C'mon, you know what I'm talking about it, it's the usual stuff.

Step by step, let's start with the Bimmer.I already had a Bmw, a '13 GSA 1200, triple black. T'was beautiful. I had to sell it for a lot of reasons. For starters, money issues, as I was dealing with a lot of rough crap in my company. Then, that bike was actually too big for me. I'm kinda short legged, and even with the seat on the lower position, I often found myself tippy-toeing.

On the other side of the coin, I loved the boxer engine: lots of torque, good fuel consumption... As long as I was RIDING the GSA, I didn't had a single problem. Those arrived the moment I had to park it, move it around, and so on.

Another problem I personally have, is that, given my budget (8500 €), I could only afford bikes from 2004/2005, with roughly 50/60k KMs...

And now, the big K.

Gotta admit I don't know a lot about that bike.I've been searching left and right on youtube, and my old magazines, in order to get an idea, and all I could come up with, is "she's awesome offroad, but not as good as the (or any, for that matter) GS for touring".

Now, is anybody kind enough to elaborate on all this? I really like the KTM (my fiancèe not so much, as she said: "it's godawful"), it has that Dakar look, but as you know I use my bikes mainly for asphalt touring and the occasionals fun days in the dirt.

How's the fuel range on the K? How many KMs, average? Reliability? Known issues?

Btw, I really like the 990 Dakar edition. Y'know, the blue one, with the orange saddle/tank?

Alright, I think I said everything.

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You da man on the big Katoom. I'd probably do the big GS for more pavement oriented stuff personally but then again I thought you were talking about tires at first with that 50/50 bit, Pierre. Tigger's looking for new shoes and you got my attention. Lots of good things about either of those choices as far as rides go.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Flappy613

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Hmmmmm, uninspired pillion passenger , could be an issue. That might change when you whack open the throttle and tell her to hold on! Gas mileage on the KTM is not so impressive but the motor has so much soul that most get over it in favor of its performance. Sexy may not be in its facade but it sure does " perform" Since getting your feet planted is an issue you should stay away from taller R or S versions. You could also replace stock seat with a "low cut " version. As an example, I'm 5foot9 inch and have taller R model. 32 inch inseam and with a low cut seat my feet are about half way flat on level Tarmac. Since I'm not a hardcore off-roader this has not been an issue, no drops. Just my experience. Requires patience to do servicing but I've found once you get experience at it its better but still time consuming compared to some. Definitely a unique experience for me. A bike that can do a lot. Some even keep a set of Supermoto wheels to swap back and forth since the bike is so capable both on and off road. Your off-road riding will be much better with the 21front , 18rear rim combo.

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Mostly pavement, the BMW 1200 will be the most comfortable and have the longest range stock. I think you will find the KTM really tall if the BMW is tall for you. The BMW is amazing off road too, even with its 19" front wheel.

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Alright, sorry for the late answer but things got a bit hectic down here at the company.

Anyway.

Yeah, the GS is probably most suited to my kind of ADV'ing, which is mostly asphalt touring...problem is, as I said, with my budget I can only afford GS's in the 50.000/60.000 KMs range, and from 2004/2005. Don't get me wrong, those bikes will surely last for twice those KMs if not more, and most likely, if properly maintained, will never have a problem but... I'm not really sure I want to put in my garage a bike with 11/12 years on the back...

Now, about the KTM 990.I need some info.How's the big K, in terms of reliability?How's the fuel range with only 20 LTs of fuel?How's the fuel consumption?

And...well, any info I can get is well accepted guys.

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PierreADV- My model is a 2012 ADV R with 9,800 miles on odo. , as such I've had no issues with the bike and it has withstood a crash involving a deer. Repaired to new condition. Early 950 models are carbed and 990 models are injected. I retain the stock airbox but have gone to a oiled foam filter along with aftermarket Wings exhaust. A lot of owners wind up remapping the fuel injection for better performance , throttle characteristics. I have not but have added a Booster Plug module which tricks ecu into slightly enrichening fuel value. Runs smooth, don't feel the need to remap since I have not fully opened up exhaust. In my case I can get 40 mpg but when riding conservatively. Aggressive throttle or a lot of slow off-road drops mileage down. So in my case my avg. is anywhere from 34-40 mpg. Not miserly by any means. So your range with the 5.1 gallon tank in my case could be 200mpg down to 165-170mpg. Extra tank or Safari tanks are popular for this bike. Rotopax fuel jugs also. Maybe not to sexy to the fiancé , lol. If I recall the BMW F800GS is quite stingy on fuel consumption. Around 55-60mpg. Hope this helps. The 990 is sure a fun machine for me but my mileage / experience has only been since '12. Cheers

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PierreADV- My model is a 2012 ADV R with 9,800 miles on odo. , as such I've had no issues with the bike and it has withstood a crash involving a deer. Repaired to new condition. Early 950 models are carbed and 990 models are injected. I retain the stock airbox but have gone to a oiled foam filter along with aftermarket Wings exhaust. A lot of owners wind up remapping the fuel injection for better performance , throttle characteristics. I have not but have added a Booster Plug module which tricks ecu into slightly enrichening fuel value. Runs smooth, don't feel the need to remap since I have not fully opened up exhaust. In my case I can get 40 mpg but when riding conservatively. Aggressive throttle or a lot of slow off-road drops mileage down. So in my case my avg. is anywhere from 34-40 mpg. Not miserly by any means. So your range with the 5.1 gallon tank in my case could be 200mpg down to 165-170mpg. Extra tank or Safari tanks are popular for this bike. Rotopax fuel jugs also. Maybe not to sexy to the fiancé , lol. If I recall the BMW F800GS is quite stingy on fuel consumption. Around 55-60mpg. Hope this helps. The 990 is sure a fun machine for me but my mileage / experience has only been since '12. Cheers

Thanks Pete, very exhaustive answer!

Now, I've talked to the pillion/fiancèe/boss. Seems like the ONLY bike she actually likes, both visually than as a passenger, is...?

Yup, correct. The GSA 1200. Exactly like the one I had before the SuperTenere.

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Haha! Just a lucky guess! Nice bike you've found there! Saying that it had a 21 front and released 3-4 years ago gave it away. Hope that this machine fits your requirements and gives you great "adventures" ! Looks great Pierre! Ride on, ride safe

p.s. where is the site where I can store an Internet point ? lol

Edited September 26, 2016 by PeteMoto

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Haha! Just a lucky guess! Nice bike you've found there! Saying that it had a 21 front and released 3-4 years ago gave it away. Hope that this machine fits your requirements and gives you great "adventures" ! Looks great Pierre! Ride on, ride safe

p.s. where is the site where I can store an Internet point ? lol

Uh...any site, just tell them I sent you :D

Ah, just kidding buddy. So, basically, I rode it for a day and a half pretty much non-stop, and I have to admit, that SO FAR (knock on wood) that little big bike has been AWESOME!

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I was and still am interested in the 800gs as a lighter more fuel efficient alternative to the " freighters" of Adv. bikes. Looking forward to having you relay your experiences with this bike. Safe travels to you